1. Copyright Notice Reference
A portion of this disclosure contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of this disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights.
2. Technical Field
The invention generally relates to an electronic representation of an object, and more particularly, to a system for texturizing objects represented in an electronic form.
3. Related Art
Navigational maps may be displayed in an electronic form. Some navigational maps are electronically displayed in two-dimensions. As such, a user of a navigational map may have difficulty in orienting himself to a location on the display. Navigational maps displaying objects in three dimensions may overcome these drawbacks by displaying objects as a user would observe them in the surrounding environment.
Three-dimensional electronic representations of an object may be created using a digital camera. Another technique uses artists to manually create three-dimensional views of objects. Still another technique uses lasers. With the laser technique, a laser beam is reflected off an object to measure distances. The distances may be used to map the shape of an object and create an electronic representation. Existing laser techniques measure distance from reference points, such as metal targets that must be installed on the object. The targets may therefore be included in multiple scans of the object. The multiple scans may be manually combined into a three-dimensional representation using the targets. Known laser techniques generate only geometric shapes of objects.
In electronic navigational maps, accurate electronic representations of large multi-structural objects, such as office complexes or shopping malls may provide a bearing for one's surroundings. Visual details and other features of large objects may be needed for a user to accurately compare a displayed object to an observed surrounding. Unfortunately, with existing techniques, typically the visual features in electronic representations of an object do not realistically represent the actual visual appearance of the surface of the object. A visually accurate representation of the surface may be manually created by an artist. Alternatively, the electronic representation of the object may be overlayed with an image captured from a digital camera or scanner.
When an artist rendition or overlayment of an image is added to an electronic representation of an object, the storage requirements for the electronic representation increase dramatically. In addition, the visual accuracy and/or consistency of the represented surfaces may be compromised by manually created artist renditions. Further, an overlayment may not properly fit the electronic representation of an object, or may not be capable of being properly aligned.
Technical problems with known systems and techniques for electronic representation of surfaces therefore involve the creation of electronic representations with features that are consistently visually accurate when compared with the actual features of the surface of the object. In addition, there are technical problems involving the relatively large electronic storage space requirements of an electronic representation of an object that includes accurate visual representation of the surfaces of the object.
Therefore, a need exists for accurately representing the surfaces of electronic representations of objects for use in navigational maps or other systems that overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.